Design and test of an airborne IR countermeasures hyper-hemispherical silicon dome

Michael J. Bender; Robert C. Guyer; Thomas E. Fenton

doi:10.1117/12.735701

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17 September 2007 Design and test of an airborne IR countermeasures hyper-hemispherical silicon dome

Michael J. Bender, Robert C. Guyer, Thomas E. Fenton

Proceedings Volume 6665, New Developments in Optomechanics; 666502 (2007) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.735701
Event: Optical Engineering + Applications, 2007, San Diego, California, United States

Abstract

A 6.5 inch diameter hyper-hemispherical silicon dome was developed on IRAD for an infrared countermeasures aircraft self-protection system. Having passed operational level environmental testing and many hours of flight performance, a prototype dome was subjected to MIL test requirements in simulated crash safety testing at the manufacturer's facility. Although the dome cracked during shock testing, it remained intact preserving aircraft integrity and actually passing safety requirements. This paper describes design requirements, stress analyses of the dome and its mounting, and test results including a forensic cause of failure study of the dome. The results add insight to the margins of safety normally applied to the stress analyses of brittle optical materials and examine actual cause of failure in the prototype part.

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Michael J. Bender, Robert C. Guyer, and Thomas E. Fenton "Design and test of an airborne IR countermeasures hyper-hemispherical silicon dome", Proc. SPIE 6665, New Developments in Optomechanics, 666502 (17 September 2007); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.735701

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